Sports

Picture perfect ending for Erin Nielsen

Sterling graduate to study journalism and graphic design, play tennis at Doane College

By David Wilson

Journal-Advocate sports writer

Posted:
05/29/2014 09:43:53 PM MDT

Sterling graduate Erin Nielsen played tennis all four years and was the sports photographer for the "Bengal Cry" student newspaper and for the Sterling High School yearbooks. (David Wilson / Sterling Journal-Advocate)

Click photo to enlarge

Sterling graduate Erin Nielsen played tennis all four years and was the sports photographer for the "Bengal Cry" student newspaper and for the Sterling High School yearbooks.

If you are a fan who attended any Sterling High School athletic contests over the last four years, you've seen Erin Nielsen.

Most likely, you saw the shy but well-spoken tennis player, who was also voted prom queen this year as a senior, perched along the fence or pacing the sidelines with her Nikon D3100 camera in tow. That is, if her afternoons weren't already booked from doubles' practice and tennis matches.

Nielsen, who served as an intern for the Journal-Advocate this year, has worked a behind the scenes job for three of her four years in high school. She was the sports editor for the student newspaper, The Bengal Cry, and produced many of the sports photos that have filled the last two Sterling High School yearbook pages.

Sports writing and photography was a hobby Nielsen stumbled upon, but one that has made her, her fellow classmates, and even her peers' parents, who proudly display her work on Facebook, glad that she found.

"I had really never taken sports photos, but nobody else really wanted to be the sports editor for the Bengal Cry and I was like 'Well, I play sports, because I also use to play softball, so why not be the sports editor,'" Nielsen said. "I never thought that I was going to love it as much as I do, but when I started, it became something I never really wanted to stop doing."

She'll get the chance to continue her passion at Doane College in Crete, Neb., where Nielsen said she wants to double major in journalism and graphic design.

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Oh, and she'll get to continue one other passion while attending school, too.

"I went to one of the college fairs that the high school put on and they ask you if you play any sports and I told them I play tennis," said Nielsen, who didn't pick up a tennis racket until her freshman year. "The Doane College coach (Pete Fiumefreddo) had been trying to get me to visit for a couple of years and I finally visited on Valentine's Day this year. I kind of hit around with the team before they had a match to warm up and then he texted me a couple months ago and told me I was part of the team."

Erin Nielsen hits a forehand shot during a match last season. Nielsen will play tennis for Doane College next year. (David Wilson / Sterling Journal-Advocate)

Doane College, a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) program, finished 14-6 overall and 5-2 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference.

Nielsen was on the Sterling tennis team's varsity roster for two years as a No. 4 doubles' player, compiling a 5-4 mark this season with her teammate, freshman Jenna Dillenburg. But since her varsity tennis resume for the Sterling Tigers isn't jaw dropping, Nielsen admits the offer to play for the Doane College Tigers was a bit of a surprise.

"I was definitely blindsided by it (making the team). I played No. 4 doubles each year I was on varsity, so there were clearly other seniors on our team that were better than me. I was pretty blindsided that (Fiumefreddo) told me I was part of the team," Nielsen said. "He didn't really tell me a reason why I made it, but told me that I was a good girl and he thought that I'd be a good part of the team because I'm dedicated and hard working."

And while having a successful tennis career while in school is a goal for Nielsen, she said the real priority will be on earning her two degrees.

To do that, Nielsen will have to miss out on a few college experiences similar to the ones she gave up in high school, like socializing and being a member of a rowdy student section at athletic events.

But for Nielsen, she wouldn't have it any other way.

"Some people have asked 'Didn't you want to be like most high school students and sit up in the stands and cheer on your team?' But really, you get the whole experience when you're on the sidelines," Nielsen said. "Not only do you get to watch the game up close and focus on everybody who is playing, but you can also look up at the student section. Inside, secretly, I was cheering (Sterling) on. But I didn't feel like it was appropriate to cheer them on while on the sidelines. It was different, but I guess I never really knew what it was like to sit in the student section anyways, so I don't know how (the experience) could be any different."

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